Redemption
by Karsako
Summary: A long time ago, he was one of the most feared Spriggan 12. One of the three Natural Disasters. He later deserted them for something he never would have imagined doing it for. Looking back at it many years later, he still don't regret having done it for it brought him his greatest happiness... and the constant reminder of his greatest shame.


**Had this story idea in my head for a while so decided to write it. Tell me what you think and if I should continue it.**

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**Year X765**

Walking toward a medium-sized house located at a small but rapidedly expanding village, a figure wearing a dark cloak with some parts of it shredded and in tatters could be seen carrying a bundle tightly against his chest. As it was arriving high noon, the figure attracted quite a bit of attention but no one dared to ask him for unknown reasons unclear to them. Arriving at the door, he knocked three times. He didn't have to wait for before a short old woman with short curly grey hair answered.

"Hel-Naruto?!" The woman exclaimed in surprise and a bit of apprehension.

"It has been a while, aunty Ishina." Naruto said with a pained smile which she quickly noticed and urged him inside.

"Come inside, I will get you some tea and you can explain everything." She said not before raising her eyebrows at the bundle in his arms.

As they walked through the house, Naruto observed the paintings on the walls. Some were representing people happily standing together which sent a pang of hurt through his chest. He had always hated coming here because it gave him nostalgia of a time he wished to ignore but never could.

'_What could have been_.' Naruto thought bitterly as he looked at the other paintings and pictures lining the house.

The first and biggest picture of all was above the fireplace and representated a man and a woman on their wedding day happily smiling at the lacrima photographer. His aunt and now deceased uncle. Behind them stood a crowd but what he mostly focused on is a man and a pregnant woman standing together smilling warmly at the couple in front of them. His parents. This is the only picture he ever had of his father. Minato. He had also never known him, died when he was too young to remember him. The last picture he looked at featured his aunt along with two children who ressembled her though you could tell they weren't hers. Him and his annoying little sister. At that age, they had lost their mother too and his aunt had decided to take care of them else they die in the brutal world they lived in back then.

Something later happened that separated them from their aunt and forced them to live in the streets. The constant warfare and instability of the land back then was quite dangerous and horrible. A majority of the children never reached adulthood before being killed or used as pawns in power struggles or war or even small insignifiant conflicts. It was a horrible time to be alive. They persevered though and as time went on, they grew more and more powerful and reunited with their aunt many, many years later after the revolution was over. The last pictures were paintings that his aunt had painted. She had and still has a passion for painting and it showed itself by the amount of paintings. No doubt there is more around the house.

Arriving at a small wooden table with two chairs, Naruto sat down and waited for his aunt to finish the tea before discussing the reason he came here. A few minutes later, she came back from the kitchen and put a tea cup in front of him.

"Im surprised that after all of these years you still remember which one is my favorite." Naruto chuckled as he took a sip of the tea.

"Of course I do." She said with amusement in her eyes. "Even with everything you have done you will always be my nephew."

"I know I do not deserve your kindness with everything I have done but... thank you." Naruto said with a small smile.

"So, what is the reason you decided to visit me after all of these years?" She inquired deciding to not waste time on small talk. Looking at the bundle in his arms she could almost guess what he wanted and it made her most curious. Not bothering to answer her, he gently and very delicately gave her the bundle in his arms.

Taking it in her arms, Ishina smiled like she hadn't in a long, long time.

"She is beautiful. What is her name?" She said as she looked at the small baby sleeping in her arms.

"Erza... Belserion."

"Belserion? As in Irene Belserion?" Ishina replied softly in mild disbelief which gradually morphed into a soft melodic laugh to which he nodded. "So, the Scarlet Despair was able to melt the heart of the infamous Boogeyman of Alvarez?"

"Please... dont call me that." Naruto said as he averted his eyes to the side in shame to which she nodded in acceptance. His eyes momentarily glazed over, lost in his thoughts before he shook himself. "Anyways, the reason I came here..."

Seeing how serious he became, she stopped playing with her grand-niece and started to give him her complete attention.

"How can I say it... A week ago, me and Irene... had a huge fight. A very big one." He said with great difficulty to which her eyes narrowed. "She wanted... look I'm not good with this sort of thing so I'm just going to say it upfront." He said and with a sigh, looked at her in the eyes.

"I need you to raise her as your own daughter. I cannot raise her. Not with who I am an-"

"Irene always had a few problems that she tried to hide but for someone like me, I could always see through her. I can easily guess as to what you two fought about and for that, I thank you immensely for saving the life of my grand-niece." Ishina said with a deep frown. "Apart from you, I, your sister and now Erza, not many people are left from our family. How the mighty people of the royal family of Mildian died out over time. Oh the irony." She chuckled in amusement. "When I opened the door earlier and saw that it was you, I expected to see a cold, emotionless and blood thirsty warrior of which I heard from the rumours."

At that Naruto flinched but she continued.

"But what I saw instead was the same little annoying kid that my little sister gave birth to years ago." Ishina murmured with a nostalgic look on her face before she looked at him directly in his eyes to the point he felt she could see his soul. "For you to have transformed this much from who you once were... Irene wasn't the main reason that's for sure. When you started going down this dark path, not even I, your sister, Irene or even August were able to stop you. You spilled so much blood and killed so many people in uniting the Alakitasia continent under the newly formed Alvarez empire that the people started calling you the Butcher of Alvarez. No... the reason you were able to stop this dark descent... it's her, isn't it?" She said looking at the small bundle in her arms with a twinkle of joy in her old eyes. A silence followed which confirmed her thoughts as he didn't deny what she said.

"...After my fight with Irene, I deserted the Alvarez Empire. They will no doubt come after me but it will be many years from now on." Naruto said as he looked at Erza, his daughter.

That sent a pang of hurt in his chest which he quickly repressed. For the first time in his life, he deeply and truly regretted all the horrible things he had done. When she was born, he had started to question whether what he was doing was right but right now, looking at her sleeping peacefully, he was sure of one thing.

Karma had showed itself in robbing him of the ability to raise his daughter. Of all the inhabitants of Alakitasia before the war to unite the guilds into the Alvarez Empire, he had approximatively killed around 20% of its total population. Of the hundred million of people, he had personally killed around twenty million people. If Acnologia had bathed in the blood of so many dragons that he became one then what would happen should one bath in the blood of this many humans? One thing was sure.

He, the worst serial killer in the entire history of humanity, was not fit to raise his own daughter.

"Zeref is still after Lumen Histoire, is he not?" Ishina stated to which Naruto nodded.

"Alakitasia may have been united but it is still very weak because of the war though it is slowly recovering. That and the power to wage war against Fiore is still very far away." Naruto said looking pensieve. "Zeref also created a group called the Spriggan 12 a few months ago in which he named me the lieutenant and August the general. A sort of elite guard in short to counter the Ten Wizard Saints though each member can easily take on the entirety of the Wizard Saints.."

"I see. I really can't understand though." Ishina said with a frown. "Have you found out any hints or leads as to why he wish to use it?"

"None. The only one who might know is August but he won't say anything. He is absolutely loyal to him. Zeref already broke too many laws of nature by bringing his brother back to life and I don't want to know what he could do with an infinite source of magic. Such powerful things are best left alone." Naruto said to which Ishina nodded.

"What does Chronos thinks about this?" Ishina curiously asked to which Naruto chuckled.

"I left Chronos in the hands of Dimaria." Naruto said to which Ishina was shocked but was replaced by curiosity.

"I see..." She murmured to herself as if understanding what happened though she wasn't entirely sure.

"I guess this is it." Naruto said somberly as he looked at Erza... his daughter.

"I will take care of her like my own, don't worry." Ishina said with a sorrowful look to which Naruto stiffly nodded though she could see him trying to hold back his tears.

Standing up, Naruto looked at the small bundle in the arms of his aunt as she also stood up and approach him. Taking his daughters in his arms one last time, he let his tears fall without restraints. This would be the last time in a very very long time that he would see or even touch her. Or maybe even the last time. He softly touched her forehead, her small growing tuff of scarlet colored hair that is just like her mother and her soft but brittle skin.

'_Im so sorry Erza... Im so very very sorry. I'm sorry I won't be there for your first birthday. I'm sorry I won't see you grow everyday. I'm sorry for everything but I can't raise you. I don't deserve to be your father after everything I have done. My hands are covered in too much blood. Too much that I forgot a long time ago how many I killed. Your life will be better without someone like me around you. Still, thank you for allowing me to have experienced such kindness and joy at least once in my life. Live well Erza and be happy. Goodbye_.' Naruto thought with grief and sorrow as he handed her back to his aunt.

"Goodbye Naruto." Ishina mournfully said to Naruto knowing this would be the last time they would probably see each other. Naruto nodded and turned around and quickly left the house lest she see the tears going down his face.

'_I await the day I get to meet you again... daughter_.'

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**Years X784**

A man wearing a long black cloak could be seen standing on a hill overlooking the city of Magnolia.

"It's been a few years since I was there." The man muttered with a slight smile.

The city didn't change much from what he could see. Walking down the main road he looked at all the new shops and restaurants that he would try later on. A few minutes later, he spotted the new renovated building of Fairy Tail. It looked quite nice and they seemed to have upgraded it while they were at it. He had heard while on travel that they had a fight with Phantom Lord which were subsequently disbanded. He wish he had been there but he only learnt it afterward it was all over.

Opening the doors to the Guild hall, he could see that it was quite empty with only Mirajane cleaning while humming and Makarov sleeping rather awkwardly on two stools.

"Hm?" Mirajane voiced as she saw the doors open and her eyes widened in recognition. "Naruto-san!"

"Hello Mira." Naruto replied with a smile that she reciprocated. Waking up from his nap at the sound of people speaking, Makarov grinned at seeing his old friend.

"Naruto!" Makarov exclaimed in joy. "I didn't think you would come!"

"Eh, didn't have much to do recently so I figured why not." Naruto replied shrugging his shoulders.

"Still, the fact that you came will make this year's S-class exam much more interesting!" Makarov said grinning wide before he invited him to sit down to which he oblidged and sat down beside him.

"I'll just take water." Naruto said to Mira to which she nodded and looked at Makarov who wanted to take beer but decided not to due to the rather rowdy party they had last night.

"Same." Makarov said and Mira disappeared behind the counter.

"So..." Naruto said breaking the ice. "What happened since I left? Anything major?"

"A lot of things." Makarov chuckled and started to explain but stopped briefly as Mira came back with two jugs of water and set them in front of them. Taking a sip of it, he continued as the two talked for about an hour about everything that happened in his absence. As they were discussing about the new members and how the others were doing, Mira dropped a piece of information about Erza.

"Erza seems a bit depressed lately now that I think about it." Mira said with a frown. "Even in our spars she isn't totally there. She looked like she is distracted by something to which I asked but she stubbornly denied."

"I see..." Naruto said with a light frown. He could easily guess as to why Mira had told hm that. Despite being rivals, they really looked out for each other as Natsu and Grey did.

"Can you... speak with her and see what's going on?" Mira said a bit embarassed at the end which made Makarov smile wide.

"Sure though I promise nothing." He replied to which both didn't believe him in the slightest that he wouldn't find out. Out of everyone in the guild, Naruto was the one to whom Erza was the closest to. He was the one who brought her to Fairy Tail and taught her how to use magic. Some even joked, though they made absolutely sure and even double checked that Erza wasn't around, that Naruto was her psychologist.

Leaving the hall, Naruto started heading toward the river. If there was one place she liked to be alone and think, it was there and sure enough as he approached the river, he saw her sitting with her feet dangling in the water. As he approached her, he saw that she seemed to be so deep in thoughts that she didn't notice his presence until he was but a meter away from her.

"Sensei?" Erza exclaimed in light surprise.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Naruto lightly asked as he sat down beside her and removed his shoes and socks to also dip his feet in the cooled water.

"Oh..." Erza frowned as she looked back at the water in front of her with a far away gaze. "Something happened recently and made me think about some things that I never really gave much thoughts."

"Such as?" Naruto gently asked.

"Do you know what is Edolas?" Erza asked.

"I arrived an hour or so ago and I spoke to Makarov about what happened in my absence so yes, I know everything." Naruto answered to which Erza smiled as she didn't have to explain everything.

"I met the version of me in Edolas and won against her but..." Erza started but stopped as she couldn't find the words.

"Something happened afterward?" Naruto asked.

"No, it's just that... seeing all of this made me think about what if there were other Edolas like worlds? What if in some of these worlds I grew up with parents instead of having none." Erza said and frowned in sadness. "My parents... I wonder if they are still alive or not and if they loved me or not... I feel like there is a hole in my heart that I have always tried to ignore..."

"Growing up without having parents is hard." Naruto said which surprised her as as far as she knew from him that he disliked very much to speak about his past. "When I was young, I lost my parents early on and had to take care of my little sister. Where I lived, wars were quite common."

"You weren't born in Ishgar?" Erza replied in surprise.

"No." Naruto said as his eyes were glazed over as he look at the sky, as if he was trying to grasp at a time he no longer could see. "I was born far, far away from here."

"Anyways." Naruto said shaking his head before looking at her with a smile. "No matter who your parents were, im sure they loved you."

"What makes you say that?" Erza said with a frown. "Some people can be pretty horrible."

Naruto flinched at Erza's words but thankfully it went unnoticed by her.

"Whoever they must have been or are, they could not not be proud of who you are. Everyone have to make choices in their life. Whether its a good or a bad one is always up to you. Considering that a lot of female mages look up to you just shows that you are a good person. Your parents would be proud of you if they were still around. You are a good person Erza. You may not know it but despite your strict behavior, I have not heard a single insult hurled at you from the guild." He said which surprised her as she knew her strict behavior sometimes annoy them. "For most of them, you are a big sister of whom they are proud of and will help you if you ever need anything."

"Come on, lets go eat a strawberry cake. My treat." Naruto said as he started walking toward their favorite bakery.

Erza stood there for a few moments in silence as she absorbed everything her sensei told her. A smile formed on her lips moments later as she stood up and joined him as her heart felt lightier.

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**Not much words for a first chapter but could not really expand more without getting into the first chapter.**

**In this story, the Spriggan 12 are divided in three generations. The first, of which August, Irene and Naruto are part of are at least strong enough to challenge the entirety of the Ten Wizard Saints and come out as a winner. The last and third, the one we see in anime/manga, are each at least as strong as the first Wizard Saint. And again, August, Irene and Naruto were also considered a class above the rest of the first generation. My reason for this is that the constant warfare of early Alakitasia forced everyone to be better or die. The last generation didn't have this so they grew a bit weaker over time. By the end of this chapter, only August, Irene and Naruto and left from the first generation.**

**Apart from that, think its obvious who Naruto's sister is lol.**

**Naruto has five magics in this in which he pushed to the extreme.**

**Space Magic(Some say that its better for it to be called Dimensional Magic because of his sheer proficiently and mastery of space magic and because he can create dimensions with it. Others say that its a mutation of space magic.)**

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**So, what did you think? **


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